The Best American Mystery Stories 2015

Starred review from August 31, 2015
The 20 entries in series editor Otto Penzler’s 19th annual best-of mystery compilation share a fine sense of character along with solid plotting and minimal violence. Classism, racism, and revenge all figure in Doug Allyn’s “Snow Angel,” about the death of a logger’s daughter. Tomiko M. Breland’s lean prose powerfully illustrates the past, present, and future of five girls and a teacher involved in a devastating school tragedy in “Rosalee Carrasco.” Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie join forces in “Red Eye,” ensuring an instant fan favorite. A never-robbed bank practically invites criminals in John M. Floyd’s amusing heist yarn, “Molly’s Plan.” Sly wit shows in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman,” in which a loner emulates Sherlock Holmes. A kidnapping’s aftermath haunts a family—and others—in Janette Turner Hospital’s creepy “Afterlife of a Stolen Child.” Guest editor Patterson has assembled a superb anthology that never disappoints.

October 1, 2015
Mystery maven James Patterson is the enthusiastic editor of this year's premier anthology of mystery short stories. This batch of 20 stories (selected by Patterson from 50 chosen by series editor Otto Penzler) includes some written by familiar names in the genre (Lee Child, JefferyDeaver, and Joyce Carol Oates, plus a collaboration by Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane in which Harry Bosch and Patrick Kenzie join forces) as well as some by relative newcomers. The moods range from near-comic to horrifying. John M. Floyd's Molly's Plan posits bank robbery as a caper, while Janette Turner Hospital's Afterlife of a Stolen Child and Oates' The Home at Craigmillnar view pure evil. Among the most haunting is Tomiko Breland's spare Rosalee Carrasco, in which the behavior of a clique of middle-school mean girls is the catalyst for a tragedy that reverberates for decades. Foreword and introduction by the editors; contributors' notes, including the inspirations for their stories; and a list of the 30 other notable short stories all add to the value of this volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)